


Nightmares

by uchiuchi



Category: Free!
Genre: Comfort, M/M, a little angst and fluff?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-28
Updated: 2013-12-28
Packaged: 2018-01-06 10:35:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1105782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uchiuchi/pseuds/uchiuchi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto wakes up from a nightmare and Haru helps him calm down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmares

"H-Haru!"

A gasp rips through Makoto as he shoots out of bed, eyes clouding with fear, hand gripping the front of his shirt, a cold sweat beginning to break out over his skin. His labored breaths break the silence of the room and his eyes dart every which way in the darkness, the only source of light coming from the moon outside.

Another nightmare.

But this time, the worst kind: one about Haru.

Makoto seals his eyes shut as the dream comes back to him. He sees Haru swimming far into the ocean then being pulled under, Makoto not reaching him in time, watching helplessly as his face becomes void of life and his lips turn blue and—

Another gasp, not as loud as the others because he feels as though he can’t even breathe.

Five minutes.

Makoto stays sitting for five minutes, willing his breathing to slow down. It’s hard when his heart is pounding in his ears and his hands are shaking. But when he’s able to get enough air into his lungs he turns to his right - like he always does after this happens - but unlike always, this time there’s a pair of blue waiting for him.

Haru’s firm lock on Makoto’s eyes doesn’t waver, not even when he sees the brunet tense.

Because this always happened, and Haru always woke up when it did. But when Makoto turned towards him he would pretend to be asleep. He would feel a pair of lips lightly touch his forehead and a hand come down to his chest to check for a heartbeat. And when Makoto found one, he would crawl back under the covers and hold onto Haru just a little bit tighter.

Always.

This time, though, Haru doesn’t want to do that.

Haru doesn’t want to watch as Makoto tries and regains his breathing alone, tries and falls back asleep with the thought gnawing in the back of his mind that it could happen again. He doesn’t want to watch the next day as Makoto gets a lot more touchy but for all the wrong reasons, as if it’s his last day on Earth to be with Haru.

He doesn’t want to let Makoto suffer alone if he’s there to help.

"Haru," Makoto finally says with a shaky breath, trying to muster up a smile. To anyone else it would’ve worked, but Haru can see right through it and Makoto knows this all too well. "Did I wake you up?"

Haru doesn’t reply. He just opens his arms and waits, eyes going softer by the second at the pure look of fear on his lover’s face.

At first Makoto does nothing. But the message _Come here_ is strong in Haru’s gaze and the brunet can feel tears begin to well up, so he leans down and ducks his head into Haru’s neck, if only to save Haru from seeing him like this and worrying.

Haru doesn’t question what happened, doesn’t ask _Bad dream?_ because he already knows the answer. And even if he didn’t, he wouldn’t pester Makoto about it, not while he was in this state.

So he slowly threads his fingers through brunet locks until their breaths are in sync and the other relaxes against him. He’s about to close his eyes when he hears a sharp intake of breath, and then:

"You were drowning, Haru."

The raven blinks and lets out a sigh. He was hoping Makoto would forget it, at least for tonight. “…I know.”

"You…know?"

"I assume that’s what your nightmares are about when you wake up saying my name." He makes sure to use _saying_ instead of _screaming_ because even thinking of anything that isn’t Makoto warm and gentle voice is enough to stretch and beat at his heart.

"So I’ve woken you up before…" Haru can tell that isn’t what worries Makoto, though; what worries him is that he’s been seen. "I always thought you were asleep."

Haru doesn’t say anything. He just continues brushing his digits through Makoto’s hair.

He stops when Makoto speaks again, a frantic urgency in his tone.

"I can never save you. You’re always so far."

"Makoto…"

"I can never reach you."

Haru’s brows furrow as tremors begin to course through Makoto’s body.

"And I have to watch your face go pale and I can’t…do anything…" He tries to keep his tears at bay and honestly, at this point, Haru is too. But he’s better at that then Makoto so with a choked sob from the larger teen, Haru begins to feel the front of his shirt dampen with tears.

"Makoto," he says, a falter in his voice. He shifts so that he can get a better look at his face and his heart all but drops when he sees red eyes squeezed shut and teeth clenched together.

It’s not his sunshine.

And that completely breaks Haru.

"Makoto, that’s enough," Haru almost pleads, thumb raising to brush away at stray tears. Even when they’re all gone he continues to rub circles on the side of Makoto’s face, desperately trying to ignore the pounding in his own chest as he feels Makoto’s heart thump loudly inside his own. He tries again, this time in a whisper. "Calm down, Makoto."

But his attempts don’t seem to be working, he realizes, and so he takes Makoto’s face into his hands.

"You know I wouldn’t leave you like that."

Nothing.

"Makoto, listen to me. Look at me." At the firmness in his tone, the other opens his eyes. Haru ignores the sharp pang in his chest. "I would never leave you like that."

"I know you wouldn’t," comes his soft reply. "But I still think about—”

"Makoto."

"Yes, Haru?"

"Never."

And he leans forward to press a kiss against Makoto’s forehead, moving his hand simultaneously to intertwine their fingers. Makoto’s hand clamps around his and Haru brings it up to his chest.

"Never."

"Never?"

"I promise you."

Makoto seems to relax at that and keeps his hand on Haru’s chest, the beating of his heart clear underneath. “Okay.”

Haru lets out a breath he hadn’t even known he was holding.

Then Makoto croaks out a small _Thank you_ and presses closer, resting his head atop Haru’s chest, ear pressed against it as small _thump thump_ 's bring a rush of warmth through his body. He takes a deep breath and inhales, Haru's scent washing over him and blanketing him in familiarity and comfort, in safety and love. Then Haru's fingers begin to thread through his hair again and that's all it takes.

Makoto’s shoulders visibly slump and he feels at ease because for the first time, that gnawing in the back of his mind that it could happen again disappears.

All because Haru is right next to him.

"Goodnight, Makoto," Haru says, but the other has already drifted off to sleep.


End file.
